Simple Meal: Vegan/Veg

One of the hot local sandwich chains in the Bay Area is Ike's Place. I heard about Ike's from some friends and their Facebook page is pretty bustling with photos and love from their customers.

When I first saw the menu, I noticed that the prices of their sandwiches range from $8.98-$11.11 and that is without any extras. That's pretty pricey for a sandwich. I can get a cheaper sandwich at the Whole Foods deli and that's saying something. But now, I can personally say, the Ike's sandwich is worth it! And so do other people because the place had a non-stop line the hour I was there and it was off peak lunch hours at 2pm.

I ordered a vegan version of their Pilgrim sandwich and added avocado and red onions. The sandwich has vegan turkey and soy cheese with cranberry sauce and sriracha sauce which sounds like it would be a gross combo but holey moley, my first bite into this sandwich was palate bliss! The Pilgrim also comes with the vegan version of “Ike’s Dirty Secret Sauce” which is amazing and of course a secret.

For Meatless Monday, here is a favorite dish of mine that is simple and is a healthy veggie twist on traditional fried rice. Instead of using pork or chicken, this fried rice dish is packed with plant-based protein from organic black beans and edamame. I always stick with organic edamame because I know it's also GMO-free.

I love this snack because zero cooking is involved. Plus, it's low-fat, low-sugar, low sodium, vegan, and practically free of almost every allergen you can think of. And jicama is MUCH better than eating celery sticks. Dear goodness, put away the those "diet food" celery sticks.

Admittedly, French fries are a weakness for me, but eating them after doing a 10-mile run when you are training for a half marathon is not one of the best things to do to your body.

Instead, one of my favorite ways to get a fries-like experience in a much healthier way is making Jicama fries simply by cutting jicama into fries-like shapes like shown in my beautiful bowl up above.

Over at Whole Foods in Oakland, in the produce section, I found boxes of pre-cut jicama sticks which makes life so much easier because I do not have any kitchen devices that make fries. I simply took these pre-cut jicama sticks and cut them down to a smaller size. I sprinkled on some garlic salt and a little paprika. I added fresh parsley for garnish.

This is my kind of cooking - cut and assembly.

In the pre-packaged hummus section, Whole Foods house brand has a garlic hummus flavor. To add some fun heat to the hummus, I added in 1/2 tablespoon of Sriracha sauce to the tub and swirled some around the top to give my hummus a more colorful look. You know how I always have to accessorize my foods somehow.

A natural sports drink

I avoid most commercial sports drinks because they are loaded with high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners and are colors that are not found in nature like fluorescent purple. In a sports drink, what you really need is the electrolytes.

One of the best sources of natural electrolytes is coconut water.

To make a natural sports drink, I add one part fresh veggie juice to three parts coconut water. Straight coconut water is fine but I like to add a little juice for some fun flavor. You can buy bottled stuff or juice your own. I typically use organic carrot juice because I love how it makes me feel. You can also use green juice or beet juice. I stick with the veggie juices because you also get the nutrients from these veggies.

So, these are a couple examples of the healthy plant-based things I eat and drink after a long run workout. What kind of snacks do you eat?

We're getting closer to the Nike Women's marathon on Oct. 20. I am so excited to run my first official half! In the meantime, here are a few things I ate this past week. Tried some new foods and got creative with other food.

First up, I tried a hot dog made with buffalo meat. I love buffalo meat because it's healthier compared to beef with lower saturated fat and lower calories. Buffalo is also high in iron and B12 with good protein. I've eyed these hot dogs in the meat counter at Whole Foods for awhile now and decided to finally get one and try it out. There is nothing artificial in the WF buffalo hot dog so to me it's more like a fancy sausage.

Of course, I could not eat my buffalo hot dog the normal way with a bun. I got all Top Chef and deconstructed my hot dog experience. I boiled the hot dog for 10 minutes and then sliced it in smaller pieces and mixed it with Sonoma Brinery Traditional Raw Sauerkraut, chopped onions, and mustard with a sprinkle of red chili peppers on a bed of mustard greens I got at a local farmers market for a mustard bump.

Who knew garbanzos came in a beautiful rich green color? And since it's summer, there is a bounty of squashes like beautiful yellow zucchini. I found this Green Garbanzo Zucchini Salad in the deli section of Whole Foods Oakland. This dish is so easy, you can make it at home. In fact, Whole Foods sells frozen green garbanzo beans for pretty cheap.

This eggplant dish has got to be one of the most beautiful
dishes I have ever made. I actually stared at my plate for a while just to
admire the beauty of Mother Nature’s creations. At the farmers market, I found
the most beautiful Thai basil I have ever seen with purple flowers.

I’ve really
gotten into flowering plants because they look so pretty. What a fun way to add
some beautiful garnish to your dishes. Next to the basil were some cool looking
purple Thai peppers. I love me some purple colored foods, and jumped at the
chance to make a purple power dish.